E-Financial
DBN to Invest $2.5m in Proposed Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank
The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has received shareholders’ approval to invest $2.5 million or 25% equity stake in the proposed Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YIB) — a new investment vehicle designed to provide equity funding to youth-led businesses in Nigeria.
The approval came during the bank’s 8th Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was held in Abuja.
The move is a strategic step aligned with the bank’s broader mission to support Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), job creation and entrepreneurship among Nigeria’s youth.
According to Tony Okpanachi, DBN Managing Director, Youth Entrepreneurship Investment (YIB) is not a conventional bank. It is an investment vehicle that will deploy equity into promising youth-owned enterprises.
“This is about backing ideas and unlocking growth through long-term capital — not debt,” Okpanachi told journalists after the AGM.
The initiative is a partnership between DBN, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), and the African Development Bank (AfDB), with additional backing expected from development finance institutions.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is currently in discussion to provide debt financing, which would bolster the capital available to the vehicle without diluting equity.
“This $2.5 million is DBN’s initial stake,” Okpanachi said. “We are co-investing alongside NSIA, and this sets the stage for broader institutional participation — both local and global.”
YIB aims to fill a critical funding gap in Nigeria’s startup ecosystem. While the country has a vibrant pool of young entrepreneurs, access to early-stage funding remains limited. Many businesses rely on short-term loans or informal capital, which often constrains scalability and long-term planning.
Okpanachi emphasised that YIB’s structure is deliberately designed to avoid the trappings of a traditional bank.
“This is not a commercial bank. It won’t provide loans or open retail accounts. It’s structured purely as an equity-focused investment vehicle, targeting scalable ventures with strong fundamentals and youth ownership”, he noted.
This will be DBN’s second strategic investment following the establishment of its wholly owned impact credit guarantee subsidiary, which offers partial credit guarantees to MSMEs.
Final structuring of YIB is underway. Following the shareholder greenlight, the promoters are now coordinating with the relevant stakeholders to complete incorporation, legal frameworks, and capital mobilisation.
“We expect all groundwork to be finalised by the end of this year. With operations likely to begin by early 2026,” Okpanachi disclosed.
The move comes amid growing concerns over Nigeria’s rising youth unemployment rate.
By investing directly into youth-led businesses, DBN and its partners aim to accelerate job creation, promote innovation, and catalyse broader economic development.
“There’s already strong interest from global players,” the MD noted, though he declined to name institutions due to ongoing negotiations.
“What we are doing is laying the foundation. YIB will serve as a credible, well-structured platform to crowd in institutional capital and scale youth-driven entrepreneurship.”
He added that YIB is not a one-off initiative but part of a long-term strategy to create sustainable investment channels focused on Nigeria’s demographic dividend.
“This is more than a financial transaction,” Okpanachi said. “It is a statement of intent. We believe in the entrepreneurial potential of Nigerian youth — and we are backing that belief with real capital.”
Kuda Microfinance Bank has unveiled the 2025 edition of “My Year on Kuda,” its annual recap providing customers with personalised insights into their spending, saving, and money management habits from the previous year.
Kuda Microfinance Bank
The tool analyses transaction data across categories like transfers, card payments, online purchases, and bills, revealing patterns such as highest-spending months, biggest payments, saving frequency, and savings from Kuda’s 25 free monthly transfers. Customers can compare 2025 activity against 2024, including income versus expenditure.
In an era of inflation and economic uncertainty, the recap promotes financial literacy by highlighting responsible borrowing via Kuda Overdraft usage, including access frequency, amounts borrowed, and repayment patterns.
Customer-shared screenshots on X reflect national trends: Nigeria recorded over 2.2 billion electronic transactions worth ₦285 trillion in Q1 2025, up 20 percent year-on-year, with POS terminals driving the shift to cashless commerce.
Kuda Group CEO Babs Ogundeyi, in the recap’s opening video, urged users: “Before you carry on with January, this is the perfect time to see everything you did with your money on Kuda last year and learn something.”
The feature underscores Kuda’s focus on actionable insights to help Nigerians navigate evolving personal finance amid shifting earning and spending behaviours.
Wema Bank has introduced SAW, a new AI voice assistant integrated into the ALAT 2.0 app, allowing customers to manage finances through natural voice commands similar to Siri, Bixby, or Alexa.
Wema Bank
SAW understands everyday language and delivers instant responses tailored to banking needs, such as checking account balances, transferring money, reviewing transactions, and accessing support.
This feature brings conversational banking to Nigerian users, eliminating complexity and enhancing accessibility.
The bank positions SAW as a pioneer in AI-powered financial services, aligning with global trends where millions interact daily with voice assistants for tasks like setting reminders or playing music.
ALAT 2.0 represents the next evolution in digital banking, making services more efficient, personal, and human-like for everyday Nigerians.
Ecobank Nigeria Limited has fully repaid bondholders who validly tendered their notes ahead of the February 2026 maturity date.
The bank announced the successful completion of its tender offer, under which it prepaid approximately $245 million of its $300 million Eurobond, representing more than 80 per cent of the total issuance.
According to a statement, the transaction relates to the 7.125 per cent Senior Note Participation Notes due February 2026.
Ecobank Nigeria Limited said it launched a tender offer to eligible noteholders in respect of the outstanding $150 million on the bond on November 27, 2025, providing them with an opportunity to redeem their holdings ahead of the original maturity date of 16 February 2026.
It stated that the early and late tender participation deadlines were 11 December 2025 and 29 December 2025, respectively.
According to the bank, holders of notes validly tendered and accepted received a cash consideration of $1,000 per $1,000 in principal amount, in addition to accrued interest from the last interest payment date up to, but excluding, the final settlement date of 31 December 2025.
Following completion of the offer, the bank said the outstanding principal amount of the notes has been reduced to approximately $55.092 million.
The bank also stated that the initiative reflects Ecobank Nigeria’s proactive approach to liability management and prudent balance sheet optimisation.
The tender offer was conducted with Renaissance Capital Africa (Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited) acting as financial adviser and dealer manager, while Sodali & Co Limited served as tender agent.
The notes were originally issued by EBN Finance Company B.V., with limited recourse to the issuer, for the sole purpose of financing the purchase of the $300 million 7.125 per cent Senior Note due 2026 issued by Ecobank Nigeria Limited.
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